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The 36 PAGES SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 GREATER HAMILTON $1.80 inc GST SHOOTING COMPETITION DRAWS TOP PERFORMANCES PAGE 11 HAMILTON’S Wannon Water treatment operations officer, Noel Kenny, and western treatment coordinator, Tim Holmes, raise their glasses after winning the award for Victoria’s best tasting tap water. Photo: JUDY DE MAN. BEST WATER IN STATE TARA FRY THE work that takes place at Hamilton’s Wannon Water treatment plant is often overlooked or misunderstood, but this week the staff were fi nally rewarded for their efforts, winning the award for Victoria’s best tasting tap water. Judges at the annual Water Industry Operations Association conference in Bendigo announced the result this week, with Hamilton’s sample announced the winner over 15 other applicants. While the competition itself was all in the spirit of good fun, there was a meaningful undertone to it, recognising the hard work of those who ensure safe, clean drinking water is available every day. Wannon Water managing director, Andrew Jeffers, said the result was a credit to the local team who operate the plant. “It honours their hard work to ensure safe, clean drinking water is delivered to customers’ taps,” Mr Jeffers said. “Ten years ago during the millennium drought, the treatment plant was struggling to produce great tasting and reliable water. “Since that time, we’ve invested in upgrades, used more selective water harvesting methods and modifi ed some of our operations to produce the state’s best water. “The award is a real celebration of the complex work our dedicated operators perform every day.” Four judges conducted a blind taste test, scoring the samples against a range of criteria including colour, clarity, odour and mouthfeel. Western treatment coordinator, Tim Holmes, said the accolade was “a real team effort”. He said there was a common misconception from locals that water sourced was clean and ready to drink, but Mr Holmes explained there was quite a process involved in making water safe. “The water starts up in the Grampians and there is a network of streams up there that we collect raw water out of, in the winter months mainly, and then we store it in three big storage basins,” he said. “If people in the town understood what would happen if it wasn’t disinfected, then they wouldn’t worry so much about the chlorine in the water.” Treatment operations offi cer, Noel Kenny, said chemicals were added to the liquid to disinfect and take out the colour. “We add chemicals to it to make it do its magic,” Mr Kenny said. “Basically the chemicals separate the sediment out of the water, then that goes into fl op tanks and mixes it all together, so it makes the chemicals stick to the dirt particles. “Then is goes through a daff process which fl oats all the sludge to the top, then water goes down through a fi lter and after it is disinfected and goes to clear water storage and then into town.” Mr Holmes said he started with at the Hamilton Wannon Water Treatment plant during the drought, which highlighted the need for updates. “It was identifi ed back then that we needed to upgrade to infrastructure here at the treatment plant,” he said. “We now do weekly testing and regulatory testing … it’s actually food grade quality and we get audited on that every 12 months. “The main problem we have here aesthetically is taking the colour out of the water. “The gum leaves and trees up in the bush that leak the colour into the water, that is all chemical reaction to get that out, so it’s the balance that we’ve got.” Mr Holmes said he was proud of the local team and humbled to win such an award. During the winter months, Hamilton uses about two or three mega litres of water a day and in the summer time it goes up to 12 to 13 mega litres. The water supplied to the Hamilton Water Treatment Plant is distributed to properties in Hamilton, Tarrington and Dunkeld. It is the fi rst time Wannon Water has won the title and a sample from Hamilton will now go on to represent Victoria at the national competition in Toowoomba, Queensland, later this year. WEA Inside WESTERN DISTRICT FARMER INCLUDING DETAILS OF UPCOMING RAM SALES THER FORECAST TODY artly CloudyA: P , max 15 SUNDY A: Showers, max 16 MONDY artly CloudyA: P , max 20 180906jd018